Golden Nugget Vegas Casino: A Vegas classic launches Facebook game

You can't play 'real' poker on the Internet (yet), but starting today you can play in a game backed by a real Las Vegas casino. The classic casino Golden Nugget, which has a rich history that dates back to 1946, brings the casino experience to you in the form of a new Facebook game, simply titled Golden Nugget Vegas Casino.

The game doesn't necessarily cater to people who want to play poker, blackjack and other casino games on Facebook -- this is more about building the virtual casino of your dreams. Start out with a modest casino and stock it with slot machines, card tables and more -- then collect money (or 'harvest') machines after a certain period of time passes. Each machine will be ready for collecting after a different amount of time, several minutes or longer depending on the device. The only time that you actually get to play casino games is when you visit neighbors, where you get 100 coins (per friend, per day) game playing comes in when you visit friends' casinos, where you get 100 coins to bet on whatever games they've placed in their casinos.

Golden Nugget has an in-game store with new games, decor that unlock as you level up and -- at some point in the near future -- they will also be adding microtransactions, where you can use real-life money to buy additional items for your casino.
So far, this simulation game doesn't seem to do much different than most of the other simulation games on Facebook, and is relying on its tie-in with Golden Nugget, and the fact that you're building a casino instead of a farm or cafe to attract the social gaming masses. If other casino-building games like My Casino and Casino City are any indication, I'd be surprised if this game will hit the jackpot. Then again, Lady Luck works in mysterious ways.